Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg held talks in Muscat on Tuesday with Omani officials and the spokesman of the Iran-backed Houthi militias to “operationalize” a roadmap for peace.
The roadmap would build on the commitments made by the Yemeni parties, through Saudi and Omani mediation, towards restoring peace in Yemen.
This was Grundberg’s first visit to Muscat since his announcement that he had received commitments from the Yemeni government and Houthis to form a roadmap for peace.
The envoy’s latest tour of the region also took him to Saudi Arabia where he met Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi in Riyadh.
Grundberg’s office said he met with Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam in Muscat “to discuss the UN roadmap which will operationalize the parties' commitments to a nationwide ceasefire, measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, and the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.”
He also met with senior Omani officials to discuss the continued regional support and coordination to the UN mediation.
Alimi’s meeting with Grundberg on Sunday tackled the latest developments in Yemen and the international pressure needed to push the Houthis to seriously approach peace efforts, end the suffering of the people and restore Yemen’s state institutions, reported Yemeni state media.
Alimi underscored the PLC and government’s support to the UN peace efforts, saying they were keen on offering all facilitations to the envoy so that he can fulfill his mission.
Grundberg had told Asharq Al-Awsat last week that he received from the Yemeni parties commitments over, among other things, “a nationwide ceasefire, opening roads in Taiz and elsewhere in Yemen, the payment of public sector salaries in Yemen, resuming the exportation of oil, further easing of restrictions on Sanaa airport and the Hodeidah port, the release of conflict related detainees, and commencing preparations for an inclusive, Yemeni-owned political process under UN auspices.”
“The parties have also committed to the departure of non-Yemeni forces, to reconstruction, and to engage in an inclusive political process to reach a comprehensive and lasting political solution,” he added.
“Discussions over the past months have resulted in the parties’ agreement on a set of commitments. I am grateful to the role both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman played to reach this point. The regional and international support over the past period aimed at bringing the parties closer to convening under UN auspices towards advancing an inclusive, sustainable political settlement,” stressed Grundberg.
Meanwhile, US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking met al-Alimi and Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek in Riyadh on Tuesday as part of Washington’s peace efforts in Yemen and to prevent the escalation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
